‘Dr. Phil’ Show Being Accused Of Providing Drugs And Alcohol To Guests That Are Addicts

So it turns out that good ol’ Dr. Phil could be in quite a bit of hot water.

An investigative report is detailing how The Dr. Phil Show has been exploiting addict guests in order to increase ratings by offering offering them drugs and alcohol.

Survivor: China winner Todd Herzog appeared on the talk show in 2013 when while he was in the middle of battling an addiction to alcohol. Herzog spoke about how he was flown to Los Angeles and put up in a hotel room to detox for a few days before appearing on the show. When he was brought to the studio, he found in his green room a bottle of vodka waiting for him. He apparently drank the bottle and was then offered a Xanax afterwards to “calm his nerves”.

The report also details other guests who encountered something similar. One former guest said she was told to buy heroin for her niece who was currently detoxing. “It’s a callous and inexcusable exploitation,” said Dr. Jeff Sugar, assistant professor of clinical psychiatry at the University of Southern California. “These people are barely hanging on. It’s like if one of them was drowning and approaching a lifeboat, and instead of throwing them an inflatable doughnut, you throw them an anchor.”

Martin Greenberg, a psychologist and the director of professional affairs for the show says that these allegations are simply absurd. “Addicts are notorious for lying, deflecting and trivializing. But, if they are at risk when they arrive, then they were at risk before they arrived,” Greenberg said in the statement. “The only change is they are one step closer to getting help, typically help they could not have even come close to affording.”

Todd Herzog has appeared at least four times on the show and claims that the first time when he found vodka in his green room was not the only time.